Change of Season
by FangedHeiress
Summary: It's getting close to winter in Ipswich. The arrival of a transfer student only speeds that process and sets everyone in town on edge. Is she just that unapproachable, or is there something deeper? CD/SW, PP/KT, RG/OC, TS/OC?...
1. Chapter 1

AN/Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Catherina Griffin and any other OCs that may pop up. I will post a pic of what I think Catherina looks like later. This plot may have been done before, but I'm going to give it a try myself...Read and review, if you'd like.

**Change of Season  
_Catherina_**

"Excuse me."

Nothing.

"Miss?"

Still nothing.

"Miss?" A gentle nudge to her shoulder and eyes popped wide, green orbs searching for the source of the touch. "This is the last stop of the day."

"What?" The question fell from painted lips as the thumb and forefinger, both topped with chipped black polish, reached for the small earplug that was blasting some type of heavy guitar and drum mix. The bus driver tried to avert his eyes from the coldness blaring out of the girl's gaze.

"This is the last stop of the day." She straightened up, grabbing her bag from the floor and rising to her feet. With a forced and grim smile of thanks, she shouldered her bag and made her way off the bus. The driver removed his cap and wiped the sweat from his brow, watching as the girl stalked down the sidewalk.

The sinking feeling in his stomach finally dissipated. It had only been there for six hours. The entire duration of the girl's time on the bus. Six hours.

* * *

The door of the small bar opened with a gust of cold wind, making the four occupants shudder and turn to the doorway with a grimace. Instantly the people turned back to their drinks or duties, eyes cast down as the figure in the door frame stepped inside. The black hood was pushed off of equally black hair, pale fingers running through the liquid locks as the soft tap of rubber soles carried the slim thing across the floor of the bar.

"Coke."

"Pepsi okay?" The bartender asked, trying not to hold her eyes for too long. She nodded and took a seat at the bar, sliding a five over the wooden surface. The glass full of Pepsi was soon slid over and she caught it in her left hand, cradling the drink as she lifted it to her lips. Four swallows later the beverage was gone. "Thanks."

"Yeah." The bartender nodded as the girl slid the glass back towards him and got up. She had just shut the door when the bartender picked up the glass, gasping as he dropped the too cold piece of glass. He bent, grabbing one of the shards on the ground. There, on the surface of the glass, was the perfect outline of two of her fingers.

In solid ice.

* * *

"New transfer student to see you, sir." The secretary left the door to the provost's office wide open and he waved in the person sitting on the bench outside. Quietly she entered, removing her black hood.

"Good morning."

"Morning, sir." She replied politely.

"All the way from Michigan, I see."

"Yes sir."

"A good transcript. You should be a beneficial asset to Spenser."

"Thank you sir."

"You'll find your room arrangements at the desk with Ms. Pennelle, you can grab those on the way out." Provost Higgins folded his hands on his desk and smiled at the girl across from him. "Now, may I ask what brings you here?"

"I didn't quite agree with the last place I was, sir." A coy smile touched her lips and the provost felt his stomach drop.

"Ah. How so?"

"Climate issues, sir." Another glacial smile.

"I see." Provost Higgins opened the folder on his desk and tried to steady his heartbeat. "Well, Miss Griffin, I hope you find Spenser to be more than acceptable."

"I'm sure I will, sir."

"I'll have Ms. Pennelle call one of the students out of class and show you around."

"That won't be necessary, sir." The girl stood up abruptly. "I think I can manage." The provost opened his mouth, ready to argue, but one look from those frigid green eyes made him decide otherwise. He closed her folder, sliding it across the desk to her.

"Very well, Catherina." Her face tightened at the sound of her own name and she snatched the folder, spinning on her heel and exiting the office quickly.

It was only after Provost Higgins heard the slam of the double doors of the main office that he dared to breathe again.

* * *

So. Review if it pleases you.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Anything not crystal clear in this chapter will be explained later on...I apologize for the wait...I've had rank holding upperclassmen ragging my ass for weeks. Damn military colleges...**

Change of Season  
**_Encounter_**

"_Catherina! Run!" The panicked sound of her best friend's voice echoed in her skull. She wanted to turn and run back to Jack, her body was begging to but her mind just wouldn't do it. She could hear him screaming in the distance and tears blurred her vision as she ran, her breaths coming in short pants. This was all just a horrid dream and any minute she would wake up. Catherina stumbled, her hands shooting out in front of her. She could hear the voices gaining on her._

"_Get up!" It was David, blood streaking the side of his face as he pulled Catherina to her feet._

"_Where's Jack?!"_

"_Move!" David shoved her roughly and she fell forward again, this time colliding with the frozen surface of the creek. The cracking sounds gave her enough warning and a fleeting look of fear washed over David's face before the ice gave out beneath his feet. Catherina let out a scream, one that was emptied into frigid water as she too plunged beneath the thin ice._

The sound of her own gasping woke her up, her hands balled deep in the sheets. Around her fingertips, solid chunks of ice held the blankets together. She shut her eyes and let out a soft sigh, aggravated by the nightmare. Somehow she had survived that night. Jack and David weren't quite so lucky. The police had found Jack's torn body on the edge of the woods. The creek had been dragged for two weeks before David finally bobbed to the surface in the harbor.

"Shit." Catherina swore as the ice on her sheets began to melt, forming puddles on the blankets. She whipped the covers back, yanking them off the bed and tossing them in a pile by the door. She sat back on the bare mattress, her head in her hands.

"…_the look on his face! It was like I had punched him in the nuts!" Catherina laughed as she opened the front door of her house, Jack and David close behind her. "Derek, I'm home! I brought the boys with me!"_

"_NO!" Catherina jumped at the urgency of her brother's command. "No, please, they didn't do anything, pl-" The sound of metal hitting flesh quickly shut her brother up. Catherina waited, eyes wide, as footsteps headed for her. The shadow on the wall grew larger and finally the doorway of the foyer was filled with the ominous figure of a hooded man. _

"_Shit, run!" Jack was the first to realize what it was in the man's hand and he pushed both of his friends over to the door as the gun went off. Catherina tumbled down the front steps, climbing back to her feet as another shot rang out. David yelled in pain, one hand clutching his shoulder. Blood was seeping from between his fingers but he kept moving regardless. _

"_The creek!" Catherina screamed. She saw both boys nod and the three of them sprinted across her backyard. Gunshots echoed around them._

Catherina flew to her feet, rubbing her hands together to prevent them from icing over again. Ever since that night, she had noticed something different about herself. Her hands always froze, literally, when she was uncomfortable or threatened. It was a pain sometimes, but at other times it was convenient. The hardest part was trying to hide it. With a lingering sigh she moved to her desk, one hand gently folding around the edge of a picture frame. Her lips tweaked into a hint of a smile, one finger brushing over two separate faces in the photo.

"Oh boys." Another long sigh fell from her lips as she took in the sharp angles of Jack's face and the bouncy curls of David's honey colored hair. Catherina shook her head and set the picture back on the desk, finally tearing her eyes off of the boys frozen in time. Her eyes closed against the familiar pricks and she turned suddenly, grabbing her long coat from the edge of the bed and draping it over her shoulders. The door of her room slammed shut behind her as she strode down the hall, the rubber soles of her shoes squeaking quietly on the waxed floors. One flight of stairs passed quickly beneath her feet and she had just rounded the corner of the staircase to go down another flight when she heard the voices.

"…idiot all the damn time, you can't just do that shit in public Reid!"

"You aren't my fucking mother, Tyler, get off my shit."

"I'm trying to help you Reid!"

"I'm don't fucking need it." Catherina paused on the stairs, her hand gently cradling the railing at her side. This Reid person sounded slightly drunk. The other guy, Tyler, sounded extremely worried. "Just stay out of my fucking business."

"Reid!" Stumbling footsteps echoed in the staircase and Catherina continued on her way down, nearly colliding with a tall boy at the doorway of the first floor. They both stopped, his barely glassy blue eyes scanning her face before they rolled and he stepped to the side. She felt the familiar feeling in her fingertips building up. Her head turned, eyes following the boy's figure.

"Sorry, 'scuse me." Another boy, a little less tall but with more intense eyes, slipped past her up the steps just as the first boy crashed onto the stairs. Catherina stayed still for a moment longer and then remembered why she was even on the stairs in the first place. She tugged her arms through the sleeves of her jacket and pushed open the doors that let her out into the misty chill of the Ipswich evening.

* * *

"Don't move. Don't go anywhere. If you have to puke, do it on your side of the room." Tyler Simms said, frustrated, as he tossed his drunk best friend onto the floor.

"Fuck you man." Reid Garwin mumbled, grabbing a pair of dark grey sweatpants and balling them up into a makeshift pillow. Tyler just rolled his eyes and retraced his steps out of the room. "You goin'?"

"Yeah. I'm going to apologize to that girl you blew off."

"Fucking pansy. Whipped bitch." Reid giggled into the sweatpants and broke off with a sigh as Tyler shut the door. Tyler ground his teeth together and flipped the collar of his coat up as soon as he got outside, trying to preserve the heat around his neck. Luckily for him, the dew freezing on the grass outside let him know exactly where the person before him had headed. He followed the imprints all the way to the edge of the woods a couple hundred yards behind the school.

"Oh, you must be shitting me." Tyler grumbled as the footprints disappeared into the forest. Nevertheless, he shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and took the first step onto the frozen leaves. Four steps later, an out of place chill ran down the length of his spine. He shivered, hunching his shoulders over even more.

* * *

Catherina placed her elbows on her knees, holding her face in her hands, which were covered by the too long sleeves of her coat. She sighed, watching the fog float in front of her face for half a second before she purposefully exhaled again, reaching out with one hand. Her fingers swept through the vapor in the air and she smiled as she listened to the tiny drops turn to ice and fall to the ground, making a sound similar to rainfall.

Tyler's eyes grew wide in shock as he watched the scene unfold before him. It was the same girl. She had seemed perfectly normal on the staircase but now…

Now her hands were solid chunks of ice, her skin an out of place shade of white against the opaque darkness of the woods. He could hear something that sounded like rain hitting the leaves beneath her feet. He let out a shaky breath and turned, running back to the school as fast as he could. Only behind the safety of his closed and locked dorm room door did he dare reach for his cell phone.

"Caleb." Tyler licked his lips, panting as he parted the blinds with his fingers. "I think I know what's up with the weather."

* * *

Reviews are appreciated but not necessarily necessary...


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Pic of what I think Catherina looks like posted on my profile.

**Change of Season  
_Help_**

"What do you mean, ice?" Caleb Danvers asked skeptically the following day at lunch as he looked across the table at one of his best friends. Tyler scanned the area around them and scooted closer to the table, holding up his hands in front of Caleb.

"I mean ice, coming from her fingertips, and freezing the fog from her breath solid." Tyler whispered. Caleb sighed and ran his hands over his face. "This isn't me being paranoid Caleb! This was real! I _saw_ it!"

"And how many times have you 'seen' Chase since we fought?"

"Caleb, don't pull that on me." Tyler grimaced and slid back from the table. "That was almost three months ago."

"But yet you cried wolf six times Tyler. Do you understand why I can't let myself willingly believe you?"

"Caleb please, I'm not making this up!" Tyler begged. Caleb sighed heavily and shook his head. The older boy stood to leave the table and Tyler reached up, grabbing Caleb's sleeve. "At least tell me you don't think I'm crazy. I know what I saw, Caleb, and what I saw was that girl freezing vapor with her fingertips. I'm _not_ crazy."

"Okay Tyler." Caleb said halfheartedly. Tyler let go of Caleb's sleeve and the black haired boy walked away as Tyler slouched in his seat, his face in his hands.

* * *

Catherina twirled her pencil in between her thumb and forefinger, barely paying attention to the professor's lesson as she concentrated on keeping her hands warmer than usual. She had gotten pretty good at that lately, especially once she readmitted herself into society.

"Miss Griffin?" Catherina looked up lazily, green eyes slowly focusing on the professor. "An answer?"

"Seventeen eighty six." She replied in a bored tone, laying her pencil down on the desktop and catching her chin in her palm. The professor nodded and went on with his lecture. Catherina sighed, a piece of her bangs flying up from her face. And that's when she felt it. The odd sensation of someone staring at her. She sat up a little straighter, crossing her arms over her chest and tucking her chin down, her eyes sweeping the room.

Caleb Danvers. The culprit. From what she knew, he was the poster child of Spenser Academy. He was captain of the swim team, co-captain of the club rugby team, editor in chief of the Spenser Academy gazette, had straight A's and a straight laced girlfriend. All in all, he sounded too good to be true. Catherina knew from experience that most of the time, the good ones were the bad ones. She caught his eye, her eyebrow quirking slightly. He gave her a grim smile and returned to taking notes.

Something was not right with this Danvers character.

* * *

"Did you get the Bio notes, Caleb?" Pogue Parry tossed his bag into the empty seat beside his best friend as Caleb flipped a page in a newspaper. Caleb hummed a reply and nodded towards his own overstuffed bag. Pogue grunted his thanks and dug into the bag. Caleb exhaled heavily and let his forehead rest on his palm as his frown deepened. Pogue paused in the act of sitting down, studying Caleb's facial expression. "Something up?"

"Just a story." Caleb muttered, closing the newspaper and folding it in half, attempting to hide the headline from Pogue. Pogue held out his hand and, defeated, Caleb gave the newspaper to the long haired boy.

"River Dragged, Body Found." Pogue whistled low under his breath. "Isn't this that same story Maydem made us do a report on?"

"Yeah." Caleb dragged his hands through his hair and down his face. Pogue turned the page and frowned.

"And isn't this the new girl?" He pointed at the black and white photo, one that was similar to the standard senior picture, and indeed it was a picture of Spenser Academy's newest member. Caleb nodded slowly. "I thought she fell in too."

"She did." Caleb tapped his fingers against his cheek, thinking. "If you see Tyler today, tell him to call me."

"Is Tyler in on this?" Pogue asked, his question going unanswered as Caleb walked out of the library, his bag swinging furiously from his left shoulder. Pogue shrugged and flipped the page, grinning down at the sports column.

* * *

Reid drew his coat tighter around his slim frame, his lips pursing around the cigarette in his mouth as his tried to get the lighter to catch flame. He turned, using his back as a shield against the wind and finally managed to light up, stowing the lighter in his pocket and taking a few quick drags on the cigarette. He moved over to the low wall that ran around the back of Spenser, finding his normal spot easily.

He had just taken another drag, his head tilted back against the tree growing next to the wall, when the double doors of the side exit to the auditorium were forcefully kicked open. Reid jumped to his feet, turning the cigarette up into his palm for fear it may have been a faculty member.

Instead it was that new girl he had only seen a few times before. Long black hair spilled out from her dark hood, which was pulled over most of her face. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and she strode across the small courtyard like she had a mission to carry out. Reid considered saying something to her, but when she barely lifted her head and glared at him, he could barely manage to lift the cigarette to his lips and inhale slowly. He simply watched her walk into the woods behind the school, her slim frame disappearing within minutes.

With a shrug he adjusted his coat on his shoulders, one hand shoved deep in the pocket of his jeans as the other swung limply at his side, the burning paper held loosely between two fingers. He traced the girls' footsteps with his own, finally finding her by the miniscule creek that was surprisingly not frozen over.

"You know it's not safe to wander off campus by yourself." Reid announced his presence. The girl jumped, spinning wildly with wide eyes. Amused, Reid lifted the cigarette to his lips.

"You know it's not nice to sneak up on people. Or follow them." The girl spat back. "Stalk much?"

"Just making sure you were okay. You never know when you might need help or something." Reid grinned as she stepped towards him. Then her eyes narrowed, her face hardened, and one of her hands appeared in his face. Her thumb and index finger pressed the end of his cigarette together with a low hiss of the paper being extinguished.

"And what makes you think I _need_ your help?" Reid remained speechless as the girl once again walked off, this time towards campus. When she was out of his sight, he looked down at his cigarette.

"The fuck?" He breathed, holding it up to examine the frozen end.

* * *

So...If you'd like...Review.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'll be posting Wes, Jack, and David sometime tonight on my profile hopefully. Jack and David, though deceased, will play major parts in the story later on.

**Change of Season  
_Out_**

Catherina restrained from kicking in her door when she returned to the dorms, choosing instead to open it civilly. She shut it just as the small bathroom door opened, revealing a short haired blonde girl dressed only in a tank top and boy shorts. A heavily ringed hand was sweeping the platinum hair to one side, a long yawn drawing the girl's mouth open as sleepy blue eyes came to rest on Catherina.

"You must be Griffin." The girl greeted at the end of her yawn. "I'm Wes." Her blue eyes rolled. "Wesli, actually. Wesli Andirs."

"Catherina." Catherina shook Wes' hand and walked to her side of the room.

"Newbie, huh?" Wes nodded to Catherina's unpacked boxes in the corner of the dorm room. Catherina nodded. "You plan on staying here or are you ditching me like my last roomie?" Wes cleared her throat and plopped down on the edge of her bed, lifting up one corner of her mattress and extracting a pack of cigarettes.

"I think I'm here for awhile." Catherina said quietly, picking up her picture again. Wes nodded.

"You don't mind, do you?" Wes asked, prompting Catherina to turn her head towards the other girl. In Wes' lap were rolling papers and a small plastic bag stuffed with something Catherina knew was illegal. Catherina just shrugged. Wes grinned. "Awesome. Last girl caught me blitzed out of my fucking mind and blew her shit."

"Just as long as the room doesn't smell like that all the time, we're good." Catherina grinned a little bit as Wes quickly rolled a joint, moving to the window and opening it. "So wait…You didn't get kicked out?"

"Nope." Wes smiled and lifted the joint to her mouth, firing up smoothly. "Told her I'd strike her a deal. She agreed. Just said we didn't get along well enough to be roommates and I gave her a couple hundred on the low."

"Oh." Catherina nodded and looked down at the picture in her hands.

"Those are some cuties you got there." Wes said as she noticed Catherina looking at the picture.

"Yeah." Catherina smiled, agreeing softly. "They were."

"Were?"

"Accident." Catherina mumbled, setting the picture back on her desk. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Understandable." Wes held out the joint to Catherina. "Hit?"

"No thanks." Catherina stood up and kicked off her shoes, her jacket quickly following. "Never was one much for smoking."

"Drinker?" Wes asked, letting the joint sit between her lips. Catherina shook her head. "Oh, you were one of those damn pill heads, weren't you?"

"Only for fun."

"Good luck with that shit here." Wes flicked the ash from the end of the joint. "All we've got here are drunks and potheads, such as myself." Catherina laughed softly. "You got plans for tonight?"

"What?"

"That's what I thought." Wes let a huge smile take over her face as she hopped off the windowsill. "You can borrow some of my clothes. We're going out."

"Out?"

* * *

Tyler watched as Reid and Pogue raced each other, both of the boys trying to slam back their fifth beer of the night. Reid was ahead, his ice blue eyes locked onto Pogue's golden ones. Tyler shook his head as Reid gasped and slammed his empty glass on the table. Pogue set his glass on the table, sourly glaring at the mouthful of beer left in the bottom.

"Told you I'd win." Reid stood up and tossed his coat over the back of the chair. "If you need me, I will be robbing Abbott and company blind." He gave the group at the table a sarcastic salute and then walked off, showing no signs of having been drinking since he arrived. Tyler shook his head. Reid's capacity for alcohol was both outstanding and scary at the same time.

"Hey, isn't that the new girl?" Pogue nudged Tyler with his elbow and Tyler turned around, watching the slender girl walk in, her hand being held captive by one of Spenser Academy's most well known abusers.

"She must be Wes' new roommate." Tyler mumbled under his breath, turning back to his own beer. Pogue shrugged.

"Caleb was looking up stuff about her earlier today." Pogue mentioned casually. Tyler paused in his sip, staring at Pogue over the rim of the glass in his hand. "Remember that paper Maydem had us write? About those kids? Well, she was one of them."

"The papers said there were no survivors."

"That the cops knew of."

"There were two holes in the ice. There were three kids, and one of them was found torn to shreds at the edge of the woods. Logically, there were two kids in the river."

"But after dragging the river for that long, don't you think they would have found more than one body?" Pogue asked, pointing one finger at Tyler. "Here's my theory. She fell in, but not all the way. She was able to crawl up the bank and get help."

"She would have been shot, just like that other guy." Tyler shook his head and threw a glance over his shoulder to see the girl laughing almost timidly with Wes, who was carrying on like she normally did with Aaron. "She had to go into the water."

"Well…" Pogue shrugged and finished his beer, turning his attention to Kate as she sat beside him. Tyler sighed and rubbed the side of his face, his mind spinning out of control.

* * *

Reid lined up with his shot, a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips as he set up the hit perfectly, one eyes squinted shut and the other following his movements. He had just swept his arm back and hit the cue ball when a small hand slid over his shoulder, making him turn. Two nimble fingers plucked the cigarette from his mouth, replacing it in a painted red mouth that turned upwards in a smile.

"Well, well, little miss Wesli." Reid felt his grin grow wider as he watched her take another drag. "Haven't seen you around lately."

"Same goes for you, sweetheart." Wesli offered the cigarette back to Reid and he bent down, taking the paper from her fingers with his lips. Wesli laughed and began walking backwards away from Reid. "You know I'm not here to play with you."

"Shame." Reid chuckled. "You're missing out."

"You wish. Play nice with her, she's my newbie." Wesli winked at Reid and then bounced off, both of her arms going around Aaron's waist easily.

"Play nice, yeah?" Reid turned slightly and did a double take. "You."

"Me." Green eyes rolled sarcastically. "Don't sound so thrilled."

"I'm trying to curb my enthusiasm." Reid retorted.

"Try harder, will you?" She shot back hotly. "And if trust me, if I had known Wes was bringing me here and you would have been here…"

"You barely know me and you hate me. I've been nothing but nice to you." Reid leaned against the table. "Reid." He extended a hand and she looked at it hesitantly.

"Catherina." Finally she shook his hand, startled when his grip tightened and he pulled her close, grabbing her wrist and holding her hand under the light. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Checking." Reid mumbled. "This afternoon, when you ran into me, my cigarette went out with ice on the end. Was that some kind of fancy trick?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"This town doesn't take nicely to things, or people, that aren't in perfect order." Reid said lowly, releasing her wrist. Catherina took a step back. "So if I were you, I wouldn't pull another prank like that."

"Fine." Catherina huffed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd be freaked out by a little ice."

"Seeing as how there was no ice anywhere around us, yeah."

"There was ice on the ground. I could have picked it up before you got there." Catherina spat defensively. Reid shrugged.

"Whatever. I'm just pissed I only got halfway through that cigarette. You owe me one." Reid bent back over the pool table, lining up his next shot. From the corner of his eye he noticed how her posture seemed to relax.

It only confirmed that she was hiding something.

* * *

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